Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Jonathan Murphy has a special application on his cell phone that lets him watch his favorite player on the New York Mets play ball.

The Kernels are part of the Minnesota Twins organization, but Murphy can be forgiven for watching another club. His favorite player is New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy, his older brother and role model.

Daniel Murphy made his Major League debut with the Mets in 2008 when he was only 23 years old.

"The first few times we saw him on TV it was kind of surreal," Murphy said Sunday after helping the Kernels clip the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 7-6. "Now I pull out my phone and I have the 'app' and I sit there and watch him take at-bats.

"It's kind of a part of my life now. It's very exciting and a huge blessing from God."

Murphy apparently has been paying attention to his brother, who is a career .288 hitter. He went 2-for-4 Sunday, scored two runs and drove in two runs and finished the game with a healthy .344 batting average since joining the Kernels July 1.

Murphy hit in the leadoff spot for the first time Sunday and played an important role in the victory played before 2,561 fans at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Kernels Manager Jake Mauer gave Murphy a nice compliment by calling him "A baseball player," which is high praise in baseball circles.

"He is," said Mauer. "He's smart. He's one of our best outfielders. He throws the best, that's for sure. He comes to play every day. He's an effort guy. He's good with his teammates. He gets after it.

"He's been around baseball his whole life, and I think that's what you see," said Mauer. "He pays attention. And he has some ability, without a doubt."

Murphy, 23, said he has a "very close" relationship with his brother, who is five years older.

"We lived together in the offseason until this last offseason when he got married, so I got kicked out," Murphy said with a grin. "We text pretty often and we talk whenever we can.

"He provides a lot of advice to me. Not just baseball, but life advice too. He's a great role model for me. I appreciate everything he's done for me.

"He's a great big brother," said Murphy. "I wasn't always the best little brother. I was a little snot when I was a little kid. He gained a lot of patience, so I guess he can thank me for that. I wasn't always the most well-behaved child.

"I always tried to tag along," he said. "He was very gracious and let me come with him and hang out with the older kids. It was always a really cool experience for me."

The Twins selected Murphy in the 19th round of the 2012 draft from Jacksonville University. He played for the GCL Twins in 2012 and made a big jump to Fort Myers in the Florida State League this spring before coming down a notch in the organization and joining the Kernels two weeks ago.

Most players go from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers, not the other way around, but Murphy was needed in Fort Myers when some players there got hurt. He joined the Kernels a week after Byron Buxton was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers, so in effect they traded spots.

"I understand where the organization was coming from," said Murphy. "If it comes down to choosing me or Byron Buxton to get at-bats, I'm going to go with Buxton too. I don't blame them. He's unbelievable.

"I want to play," said Murphy. "I love to play. Whether it's here or in the big leagues, I just want to play baseball. That's my goal."

Murphy walked in the first inning and scored on a sacrifice fly by Adam Brett Walker. He singled in the third inning and scored on a two-run homer by Jorge Polanco as the Kernels took a 3-2 lead.

Cedar Rapids made it 4-2 before the third inning was over on a double by Walker and an RBI single by Joel Licon.

Cedar Rapids grabbed a 7-2 lead in the sixth inning on a single by Licon, a double by Michael Quesada, an RBI single by Jeremias Pineda and a two-run double by Murphy.

Bowling Green scored four runs in the top of the seventh to pull within 7-6, but David Hurlbut quelled the uprising and Tyler Jones got the last two outs in the ninth inning for his second save in two days.

Mason Melotakis (7-3) got off to a rocky start in the first inning when he was touched for two runs on a triple and two doubles, but he settled down and tossed five scoreless frames before calling it a day.

The Kernels (56-35) and Bowling Green (53-39) will finish their three-game series Monday at noon at the stadium. Jose Berrios (5-4) is scheduled to pitch for Cedar Rapids.

BOWLING GREEN (6): Toles, cf, 4 2 3 1, Goeddel, 3b, 5 1 2 1, Reginatto, 2b, 5 1 2 2, O'Conner, c, 4 0 0 0, Gantt, lf, 4 0 2 1, Rickard, dh, 4 0 1 0, Leonard, 1b, 4 0 0 0, Dunn, rf, 4 1 0 0, Martin, ss, 4 1 1 1. Totals 38 6 11 6.

KERNELS (7): Murphy, cf, 4 2 2 2, Polanco, ss, 5 1 2 2, Hicks, 1b, 5 0 1 0, Walker, rf, 3 1 2 1, Harrison, 3b, 2 0 0 0, Kepler, dh, 4 0 0 0, Licon, 2b, 4 1 2 1, Quesada, c, 3 1 1 0, Pineda, lf, 4 1 2 1. Totals 34 7 12 7.

Bowling Green   200 000 400 - 6 11 0
Kernels             103 003 00x - 7 12 2

Harrison, Molina (5), Sawyer (8) and O'Conner. Melotakis, Muren (7), Hurlbut (7), Jones (9) and Quesada. W - Melotakis (7-3). L - Harrison (1-2). S - Jones (9). 2B - Reginatto (12), Gantt (13), Toles (22), Hicks (30), Walker (20), Quesada (7), Murphy (2). 3B - Toles (11), Marin (1). HR - Polanco (4). SB - Toles (45), Goeddel (19). E - Harrison (19), Murphy (2). T - 3:03. A - 2,561.